The story of the beleaguered action RPG from EA and BioWare Hymn has apparently ended. According to an official BioWare blog post, the “overhaul” project of the ambitious jetpack combat game is dead. The staff assigned to rebuild the game in better shape has been reassigned to work on other BioWare projects, particularly Dragon Age 4 and the next Mass effect game.
From what we saw in the March 2019 launch version, EA and BioWare were clearly intended to have the game receive regularly updated content, but negative reviews (including my own) made it clear that BioWare needed to go back to the drawing board. Despite some good ideas and fun flight controls, HymnThe core core needed to be thoroughly updated before returning to the game.
No more singing from the Hymn
Then-general manager Casey Hudson made a statement in February 2020 acknowledging those criticisms. After listing aspects of the game that needed work, he made a promise to fans: that BioWare would “complete basic work … to unleash the full potential of the experience … work specifically on reinventing the main gameplay loop with clear goals, motivational challenges and progression with meaningful rewards – while maintaining the fun of flying and fighting in a massive science fantasy environment. ”
However, 10 months later, Hudson left, as did BioWare Dragon Age 4 executive producer Mark Darrah. BioWare announced this news with the insurance that projects like Dragon Age 4 would soon continue, but none of the day’s blog posts, including one written by Hudson, contained any formal assurance that “Hymn Next “was in a similarly good shape.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported this two weeks ago HymnThe development of ‘reinvention’ was seriously explored by EA executives who would decide whether the project would go ahead or die. According to Schreier, BioWare’s pitch for EA would be to expand the workforce from 30 people to a number closer to 90 to match the scope of the work. From the sound of BioWare’s announcement on Wednesday, that reported meeting did not go well Hymn
That transferred team will certainly have its hands full with other projects, especially the previously announced sequels op dragon era and Mass effect. At the time of going to press, EA has only one announced launch date for an upcoming BioWare game: the remastered Mass Effect Legendary Edition, scheduled for launch on PCs and consoles on May 14.